With the world’s focus in the past two years on the COVID-19 pandemic, the devastating effect of malaria on families has somewhat fallen under the radar.
However, malaria remains a significant public health and development challenge in Africa’s sub-Saharan region, said the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Although malaria can be a deadly disease, illness and death can usually be prevented.
On Monday, April 25, the WHO marked World Malaria Day. This year’s theme, “Harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives”, aligns with the call to urgently scale up innovation and the deployment of new tools in the fight against malaria, while advocating for equitable access to malaria prevention and treatment, within the context of building health system resilience, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa.
The past year has seen significant breakthroughs in malaria prevention and control, particularly recommendations of the use of the first vaccine against malaria, the RTS,S, which will be used to prevent malaria among children aged six months to five years, who live in moderate- to high-transmission settings.
The development of the vaccine has the potential to save millions of lives, she said.
The WHO said that in the past year about 95% of the estimated 228 million cases occurred in the WHO/AFRO region, with 602,020 reported deaths. Six of the countries worst-affected by malaria in the region were reported to have accounted for up to 55% of cases globally and for 50% of the deaths.
Nigeria accounted for 31.9% of the deaths worldwide.
RNI reporter Aisha Jamal spoke to residents of Maiduguri, where malaria is rife, and asked them what measures they took to prevent getting the disease.
Abba Kyari Mustapha Makinta, an internally displaced person (IDP), said: “We use mosquito nets and burn coils to protect ourselves. We know the dangers of malaria, how it causes high fevers and makes us suffer. That is why we took the first step to prevent the disease, using mosquito nets as protection.”
“We use anti-mosquito coils in our room while we sleep. This chases the mosquitoes away so that they don’t bite us,” Bakura Umar said.
A mother of four children, Yazara Lawan, said: “I stay in an incomplete building with my family. We are poor and we lack many basic things, even curtains to close our windows. My children get sick often, suffering high fevers from the mosquito bites. We know our situation is not healthy but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Muhammad Shuwa, a doctor at the Primary Health Care facility in Maiduguri, said it was imperative to educate the public about malaria, the dangers attached to it and the precautions they needed to take to prevent the disease.
“Malaria has always been one of the deadly diseases in the African region. Mosquitoes thrive in damp places, swamp areas, puddles in the roads after rain and in blocked sewerage systems.
“Poverty plays a huge role in the number of people who become infected. Their living environments are often neglected, some are not aware of the extreme danger of malaria and many do not have the means to get to a hospital or clinic because travelling expenses are high and getting higher.”
Shuwa said the public should try to keep their living spaces tidy and avoid swamp areas.
“A clean environment is vital in preventing malaria. People should always use a mosquito net. If there are any signs of fever, it is vital that they visit their nearest hospital or clinic to check their health status.”
AISHA SD JAMAL
